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This is the chaos I'm dealing with. I'm just worried about messing with the insulation. It's like, do I get rid of it or do I leave it?
(I know it's ugly. It's under the sink and I don't actually know what to do about it.)
It's -5 right now, so it feels like -18. Tonight, it's supposed to actually be -18 and drop to -19 this week.
BRR.
Now you know why Plumbers charge so much! Now all we're (usually) talking about is the water lines and not the drain lines. I've installed is on drain lines before too but only when the drain is known to freeze.
I don't see much water lines showing to be heat taped. Leave the insulation in place, it's prolly needed, but where do the water lines come from? Basement? Crawl space? You can start at the HWH and follow the lines to find the Kit sink (?) lines and look at them. You will prolly be able to tell where it needs heat taped. If it's a crawl space then heat tape them all that you can. If it's a basement then feel for the drafts that come in and start there.
When the water lines are frozen you can feel it in the pipes where it is frozen. Do the hot water lines also because warm water can freeze too, and just as fast as cold water lines! Look for bulges in the pipe where the ice expanded and split the pipes. If you find a split while it is still frozen then God has blessed you (!!) but then look for a 2nd split on the other water line with a foot or so of where the split is at. It seems like splits always come in pairs! (1 on each line.)
If the Kit sink has frozen underneath the sink then next time you can open the cabinet doors so warm air from the house circulates under the sink and keeps it from freezing. If your hubby thinks he got most of it and is done the next freeze will tell you if he was right! (get back to work!) lol.
Spacing on revolutions of heat tape on the pipes is most critical. The minimum spacing for completing each loop is like 2" or less. Maybe 1" spacing if you guys get real cold there. Do Not just lay the heat tape straight on the pipe , it must be circling the pipe. Oh he'll get done lots faster but he'll be working again tomorrow guaranteed.
Good luck! .
